


Make Amends

by Yoake_yoake



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: AKA, Blood and Gore, Garbageman McTunaHands is only in chapter 5, Human AU, Injury, Jealousy, Kidnapping, My Own AU, Poisoning, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Redemption, Regret, Remus - Freeform, Torture, Victim Blaming, power au, reference to other sides, trigger warning
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-26
Updated: 2020-04-28
Packaged: 2020-05-20 08:10:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,719
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19372702
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yoake_yoake/pseuds/Yoake_yoake
Summary: Human/ power AU. Each of the Sides has powers.Deceit and Jealousy (of my own design for the story) attack the others and Thomas.After going into hiding, they are forced to rethink everything they had just been certain in believing.Funny how fragile humanity can be.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Powers for each side:  
> Logan can transfer information by touch- much like the androids do while interfacing in Detroit: Become Human.  
> Patton can heal injuries to himself and others.  
> Roman can change his voice and conjure visions into projections.  
> Virgil can sense danger, much like Peter Parker's spider sense, and can see in the dark.  
> All powers used drains energy from the user, however, Dark Sides can use theirs for much longer and it affects them less.

Friday night. 11:30 PM. Thomas’ house. Thomas was having the time of his life. 

He was throwing a party to relax and hang out with all of his friends after finals. Lights were dim, people were drinking (legally), music was loud, and everyone was having a great time. It was all going perfect. 

Well, at least mostly.

Virgil- one of Thomas’ closer friends- was close to panic. He. Hated. Parties. He was only convinced to come when Thomas had said it wouldn’t be big. But then Joan showed up with other friends, and Talyn as well. Then Terrence and Val. The music had gotten louder and louder, and the heat was rising, and the voices and the smell. It all just got too much.

Virgil had collapsed in the corner, hands in his hair. It didn’t even take a minute before Patton found him. Patton was on his knees, speaking to him softly, though his words were drowned out by the skull thrashing music and stumbling drinkers.

Patton said something before disappearing in a hurry.

He searched for Thomas, but he was nowhere! Who else could he go to for this?? Oh! He began to search, instead, for Roman. Roman could help, right? He and Virgil were on good terms at the moment, so that’d be good.

He found Roman in the kitchen, stance wide, as he argues with Logan about the ability to divide by zero. 

Patton grabbed Roman’s arm quickly, trying to drag him back to Virgil as he attempted to explain, but he couldn’t make the prince budge. 

Logan stood from his lazy position on the counter and crossed his arms. “What is it this time, Patton? Another underage-”

“It’s Virgil!” he cried out, yanking on Roman’s sleeve. That instantly got both of their attention. 

They both stood up and allowed Patton to drag them to the main room of partygoers.

Virgil hadn’t moved from his corner. He had his knees curled to his chest and his head down. Roman and Patton kneeled by him easily as Logan began waving starers away. He turned down the music slightly, though he received nasty looks from a few people.

Roman and Patton tried to calm Virgil, but it wasn’t working. The noise and attention were still getting in the way. They knew they couldn’t shut down Thomas’ party, but what else could they do?

Roman didn’t think it through. He picked Virgil up quickly and hurried up the stairs with Patton and Logan in tow. Roman took him to Thomas’ room, shooing out the couple inside. Logan closed the door as Patton opened the window. Roman set Virgil down on the bed, stepping back. 

The attention now lessened and the noise almost nonexistent, Patton was now able to actually talk to Virgil.

“Hey there, kiddo,” he spoke softly to him, kneeling to appear less threatening. “Everything’s alright. Logan and Roman are here, otherwise, it’s just you and me, okay? Can you focus on me?”

Virgil looked between him and the other two, who were keeping their distance to not crowd him. He slowly nodded, his breath whistling through his teeth as he looked back to Pat. 

Patton smiled supportively and nodded back. “Alrighty, good. Focus on me, okay?” he dug into his fanny pack a second, pulling a sleeve of peanut butter crackers out. “Do you want a snack? Will that help?”

Virgil glanced at the crackers and took them, holding them to his chest at first as he struggled to open the plastic. It was quiet as he bit into the first one, allowing the dry crumbs to crumble onto his purple hoodie. 

Patton smiled warmly to him. “There you go. It’ll all be over soon, don’t worry.” 

Virgil nodded and the room fell into silence as he continued eating. The music in the background, soft and thumping with bass, actually helped at the quiet volume. 

That jogged Logan’s memory. He pulled his phone and air pods from his pockets, going over to him. He carefully slipped them into Virgil’s ears as he played an audiobook for him. The Tragedy of Birlstone, a Sherlock Holmes novel. It played at just the right volume, blocking out outward sound, but not pounding in his head as the music had.

Virgil relaxed as he listened to the calm man speak, his sleeve of crackers slowly diminishing. He had only a few left before he pulled the airpods from his ears. He swallowed hard and looked to them all. “Thanks, guys…”

“It’s no problem, kiddo.” Patton smiled gently and moved up to sit on the bed beside him. “Sorry you aren’t feelin’ so well.”

Virgil shook his head, twirling the airpods between his fingers. “No, I’m fine... But, thanks to me, all of you are up here instead of having fun downstairs.”

“Having fun?” Roman chimed in. “Pah-lease. Logan and I were by ourselves bickering. We were having more fun together than with others.”

Logan nodded in agreement. “Absolutely. Remaining up here with you is highly preferable to returning downstairs.” 

Virgil smiled slightly, looking down at his crackers and the airpods. He set the headphones to the side. He had four crackers left. So he passed them out to them. 

Patton squealed and practically swallowed his whole. “You’re the sweetest, Virgy!” Patton cheered through a mouthful of peanut butter.

Roman rolled his eyes but smiled and thanked him politely. 

Logan seemed almost hesitant. But he took the cracker with a curt, “Thanks,” taking a bite.

Virgil ate his last cracker as he watched them, feeling calm and at peace now that there weren’t so many people around. The silence lightened.

“If I am completely honest, I don’t understand how people could enjoy these types of activities,” Roman stated, looking out the open window to the parking lot of cars. 

“Really?” Virgil asked, raising a brow. “You seem the most likely out of anyone to love these kinds of parties.”   
Roman just shrugged in displeasure. “The drinking, the music, it’s all so boring. What the point in celebrating if half of anybody will either forget about or regret it.”

“I like birthday parties!” Patton cheered. "The balloons, the presents, the cake- what's not to love!!"

"The idea of having to sit and watch as someone has more fun than you, opening presents you have to pretend to be into," Logan responded monotonously, earning a nod from Virgil. 

"Alright, birthday basher, what parties do you enjoy?" Roman asked, throwing out only a halfhearted insult/name. 

Logan sighed and readjusted his glasses on his face. "Parties is not the term I would use for it. I'd say it's more like… eh.. a presentation of a persons growth and experiences captured on canvas."

Patton gasped. "He likes show-and-tell!!"

Virgil stared at Patton before nodding. "Like gallery showings. Formal stuff. Can't say I'm surprised about that."

"Well, I prefer after parties," Roman announced, flashing his stage smile as he pictured it. "A good show must be followed up but an exciting celebration with all of your fellow cast members, whom you've grown closer to over the course of the running show."

"Celebrating is just so much fun! We should celebrate all the time!" Patton giggled. Then he sat at attention, staring at Virgil.

Virgil stared back. "Wha.. what? What are you staring at? Is there peanut butter on my face?"

"No, silly lagoon- well, yes- but I wanna know what your favorite type of party is!"

Virgil quickly wiped his face with his sleeve, turning a bit red in embarrassment. "I-I thought this whole situation made it pretty clear that parties weren't really my thing."

Patton waved his hand to dismiss the issue. "This was all just a little bump in the road. There's gotta be some kind of party you like. Holiday parties, reunions, religious gatherings-" he listed a few.

Virgil sighed and rubbed his eyes, though he was careful of the eye shadow. "Uh.. alright.. If I had to choose.. it'd probably be.. little ones. Just.. slumber parties and get-togethers with a select few friends, ones where they can't just invite others. When it's just us."

Logan smiled only slightly as Roman clapped his hands together in pleasure. "What an adorable answer~"

Virgil was about to stubbornly argue that he wasn't adorable when Patton jumped up, his hands on his cheeks and stars jumping from his eyes. 

"What if we have a small party for Virgil now! A slumber party!" 

Roman nodded in instant agreement. "I was just having the same light bulb, my fine friend. A slumber party so that the screamo emo can enjoy himself for the night."

Logan rolled his eyes. "Those are becoming less and less original as you continue with them. But back on topic. As for a sleepover, I simply must-" 

At the sound of his annoyed tone, Patton stuck out his bottom lip, quivering it for effect. His eyes went wide and water and he whimpered. 

Logan stopped and stared at him, mouth still half open as he tried to turn down the idea. But after staring at Patton for a minute he fell apart and sighed. "-alright, fine. A sleepover tonight could be beneficial to Virgil's mental state and satisfactory to the rest of us."

Patton instantly jumped up and cleared, bolting to the closet and tearing through a few hangers. "Thomas won't mind if we borrow a few things, I'm sure." He giggled, yanked out a stack of hangers. He looked through and then threw clothes at each of them. 

Roman received a red t-shirt with a roaring lion on it and a pair of light gray yoga pants. He had no problem changing then and there. 

Logan got a simple, knitted, blue cotton sweater and plaid pajama pants. He left to use the bathroom as a changing room. 

Virgil was given an extra large purple t-shirt and exercise shorts. He did not change, still skeptical of this idea himself. 

And Patton put on a fluffy teddy bear onesie without hesitance. 

When Logan returned in the PJs, Virgil looked around at them all. The void in his heart pulsed and he smiled in gentle admiration, looking down to the t-shirt in his lap. He left and changed quickly, coming back in the nightgown of a shirt and shorts. 

Patton flopped on the bed excitedly, kicking his feet like a teenage girl. "So, what are we gonna do first? Twister? Truth or dare? Spin the bottle?"

Virgil looked to the side. "Not to disappoint you guys… but after that whole thing... I'm feeling kind of.. exhausted."

Logan nodded. "It makes sense. You spent all of your energy on your anxiety, it'd be strange if you weren't. Besides. It is far too late already. We should all be getting to bed."

Patton whined. "Ah, come on guys. Just one game? It's not a real sleep over if all we do is sleep."

"Pretty sure that's exactly what a sleepover is-"

"Maybe tomorrow, Patton?" Virgil suggested, cutting Logan off from the search of an argument. "I promise, we'll all play together in the morning, okay?"

Patton pouted and begrudgingly agreed. "Okay.. but I get to pick the first game!"

"Deal." Virgil smiled, climbing onto the bed beside him and laying down. 

Roman climbed in on the other side of Patton, laying near the edge of the bed. "We look forward to whatever you choose. But for now, we all need our beauty rest."

Logan stared at them. "You are all.. just going to sleep in the same bed? Is that not-"

"None of us are straight, brain matter." Roman hummed, his eyes already closed. 

Virgil blushed, looking up to Logan. He shrugged and held out his hand to him, offering him the free area on the other side of him near the edge. 

Logan raised a brow and looked between him and the side. He would surely fall off in that small of a space, however…

He walked over and grabbed Virgil's hand for only a moment. Then he removed his glasses and took Patton's from him, setting them to the side. He climbed into bed beside Virgil, astonished that this size of the bed was capable of even coming close to hold the four of them. 

As the other three drifted off, Virgil- despite his fatigue- was awake. He looked around at the three guys surrounding him- one drooling, one snoring, and one hardly even moving his chest to breathe- and smiled to himself. They.. really did care. It felt… nice to know that. 

He laid down, the heat from Patton and Logan being enough to keep him warm. He closed his eyes and was very quickly whisked away to the land of make-believe. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Critique is welcome! The first chapter is boring, I know, but don't all books do that? The second chapter punches you in the face, trust me.  
> Thanks for reading and comment if you want more!


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warning:  
> Poison  
> Violence  
> Swearing

Saturday morning. 3:30 AM. Thomas’ house. Thomas was barely awake anymore. Slouching and stumbling over top of guest that had passed out all over the place. But the party still continued. The music still played, the drinks still came, and people were still there.

He went into the kitchen to grab a snack when a gentle rumble of thunder rolled through the walls. He raised a brow and looked out the window to the sky. He hadn’t realized how late it was or how the clouds had covered the sky. He just grabbed his snack and went back to the party. A storm was nothing, he wasn’t concerned.

The thunder rolled.

Upstairs, Virgil stirred in the bed. He opened his eyes a crack, slowly looking around. He found himself hugged by Patton and cold on his back. After a bit of wiggling and quite a fight, he managed to get away from Patton and sit up on the bed. Tossing his legs over the side of the bed, he stood, but he jumped away pretty quickly when he realized he was standing on something other than the carpet. 

It was Logan, passed out on the floor. The tall boy was half curled and half sprawled across the ground. He was right. The bed was too small. He must have fallen off. 

Virgil smiled a bit and rolled his eyes. He grabbed a blanket and tossed it over him before heading out and to the bathroom. He covered his ears on the way there and sighed as he closed the door. 

He did his business and washed his hands, using a bit of the water to wipe his face. He closed his eyes to rub them as the lights flickered. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up and he stiffened, looking around. His anxious spider-sense instantly had him on edge. Lightning flashed and he turned to the window as thunder rumbled closer.

Slowly creeping towards the window, he peeked out to the yard and sky. It all seemed fine. He began to turn away, ashamed at overreacting for nothing.

Sudden lightning shocked the yard and with an ear-shattering explosion, Virgil was covering his ears again. He moved away from the window and squeezed his eyes shut as he waited for it to pass.

A burst of static laughter echoed in through the cracks in the wall and window. The lights flickered and Virgil was caught, terrified and standing alone in the bathroom. He stared at himself in the mirror, gasping as the glass shattered. He covered his mouth in horror, throwing open the door and bolting to the bedroom. 

He shoved the door open and then slammed it shut, alarming the others to wake.

“Get up- get up now!!” he screamed at them, picking up their clothes and throwing them at them all. 

Patton frowned as he caught his sweater and looked at him gently. “Virgil, is something the matter?-”

“Yes!! Everything is the matter!! Get dressed!!” he grabbed his own clothes and didn’t even waste time going somewhere else to change.

Roman glanced to Logan before standing and getting dressed in his white prince garments. Logan stood to change as well as Patton remained on the bed. 

Thunder crashed outside the window as torrents of water began pouring on the house. The laugh spoke again, carried by the rain. 

Now all of them stood in alarm and Patton finally understood enough to change. 

“Why is he here, what is he doing now,” Roman demanded, slamming the window shut.

“Who knows!” Virgil panicked, yanking on his shoes. “But we have to get out of here, we can’t put Thomas in danger like this again.”

“I agree,” Logan nodded, stepping into his dress shoes and grabbing anything that was theirs. “I know where we can go, come on.” he went to the door and opened it, stepping out into the hall. The other three followed quickly.

They tried to remain unsuspicious as they reentered the war zone downstairs, but they were quickly caught up by Thomas himself.

“Oh, there you guys are! I thought you’d gone home already.”

“That’s where we’re headed now,” Roman said quickly as the lights flickered again. “It’s really late and Virgil is getting a bit… you know.” This lie wasn’t all that hard to pass, as Virgil was doing nothing to hide his fear.

“Oh, well; I’m sorry, Virgil. I hadn’t expected the party to get this big-” The thunder interrupted him and the music was changed. The radio was traveling through channels quickly, remaining static no matter where it went. The lights flickered and with another static shock, the sound went dead and the lights went out.

Patton grabbed Virgil and pulled him into a tight hug as partiers began to groan, pulling out their phones for light.

Thomas turned his on as well, looking up to the lights as if he expected them to turn back on with a gaze. “Oh, tough break..” he turned to them again. “I’m sorry, guys. I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to leave in this storm. Why don’t you all stay the night instead? You can take my room.”

Virgil shook his head quickly and Roman stepped in front of him to hide it. “That’s a mighty fine of you to offer, Thomas, but we really should be returning home-”

The laughter began again, just on top of them now. But no one seemed to notice other than the four of them. Not even Thomas himself. 

“No, fellas, really. It’s too dangerous-”

“Uh... Thomas?” Joan piped up, going over to them. “Do you… smell smoke?”

It had not been obvious to them in the midst of their bickering, but indeed. The smell of burning filled their noses, as well as the scent of... Fish. 

Thomas stood up and began to yell. “Everyone! Outside! Get outside now!!” 

The team of 4 wasted no time in listening, running out of the house. Patton had tried to stop to find an umbrella of some sort, but there was no time. Roman grabbed his arm and threw him out of the house. 

The outside was much worse. They were all instantly drenched in rain, soaking them through to the core and causing them to shiver. Virgil looked up to the house in horror as flames burned the roof and licked the windows to the top floor. Other people began to scream over the waves of rain and the crackles of fire. Multiple tried calling for help. 

“Come on!!” Logan’s voice interrupted his alarm as he led them through the rain. He tried to cover his face to block the rain from his glasses, but it was no use. So he lead them away blind. 

As both rain and tears poured down Virgil’s face, he ran with them. Blood pumped to his ears, the sound only quitting to hear Thomas screaming behind them.

Logan reached the car they’d all come in- Patton’s minivan- and he snatched the keys from Patton, unlocking it and jumping into the driver’s seat. With Roman in shotgun and Patton and Virgil taking up the back- and hardly any time to buckle up- Logan managed to rocket them out of the parking lot and on to the main road in less than a second. 

Patton rubbed Virgil’s arm in an attempt to keep him calm. But Virgil was struggling to get even a solid breath into his lungs. He was suffering tunnel vision and could feel his heart hammering in his chest. 

Logan glanced back to the two in worry as he blasted down the road. He sat up. “Patton, headphones! Get his headphones!’

Patton nodded quickly, beginning to search the car for the headphones. He found them beneath the seat and put them over his head. Roman used his soggy phone to connect to them and began playing another audiobook. Macbeth by Shakespeare. 

Patton held his hand in his, rubbing it softly to try and help. “Where are we going?” he asked Logan, leaning forward to the front.

“A bunker,” Logan said simply. “In the field behind my house. I had a feeling that it would come in handy, though I never imagined like this.”

“And you are sure it is secure?” Roman asked, receiving only a simple nod from Logan in return. 

They drove in the near silence for about 5 minutes, the only sound being that of Virgil’s ragged breathing. Then the crackling electricity began again and Vigil threw the headphones from his head. “WATCH OUT-”

Lightning shocked the road just in front of the car. Logan and Roman both cried out and Logan yanked the steering wheel to the side in an attempt to avoid it. But the car slipped in the water and he lost control, skidding it and spinning in the road. The car shut off in the road and Logan could not get the engine to even think of turning over. 

He growled and tried repeatedly as the laughing caught up to them again. He kicked the pedals in fury.

“We’re gonna have to go on foot!!” Roman shouted, kicking open the door and jumping out. Logan grunted and pulled Virgil from the car with Patton on his heels. And then they were running again. 

Virgil clutched his headphones in his hands, terrified. The thunder that rumbled was less of a reaction to lightning. It now was made up entirely with the laughter that was following them, the voice of Lies. 

They climbed a hill into a wooded area, dodging trees in a weak attempt to keep him off of their trail. But it was almost fruitless. The laughter followed.

They reached a break in the trees before Virgil slipped and fell like he was in a horror movie. Patton dropped to help him up, but as Virgil stood, he cried out and fell again. His ankle exploded in pain and he could hardly feel it. 

Roman helped him up, wrapping Virgil’s arm around his neck when suddenly, time froze. The rain stopped falling and remained suspended in the air, there was no sound, and they were alone. 

Logan looked around in a craze. What was happening, this made no sense. He turned to the others before spotting him. That bastard in his bowler hat. 

Deceit. 

Logan moved in front of the other three, standing in the way of Deceit. “What are you doing here,” he demanded.

Deceit smiled wickedly, his sharp teeth glinting with poison before he spoke a word. “I figured it would be obviousss.” his voice rumbled from his chest, echoing around them in the silence. “You really don’t know. Not like you’re protecting him or anything.”

Patton glanced to Virgil, who was being held up by Roman as they both stared at the Dark Side in front of them. He whimpered slightly and moved closer, grabbing Virgil’s free hand.

Logan puffed out his chest in defiance. “You won’t be getting anywhere near him. So fuck off!!” he screamed, squeezing his fists so hard his knuckles popped and turned white. 

“Oh, what a naughty tongue.” Deceit tutted, stepping closer. “Not that I expected more from you, Logic. Perhaps a friendly debate or a family meeting isn’t in order?”

“You aren’t family!” Patton piped up, though his voice was wavering. “And his name is Logan, you slippery slug!” That just made Deceit smile more. 

“Not family?” he gasped, feigning offense. “Outrageoussss! Not like I’m a large part of you all, yesss?”

Logan stepped forward, blocking almost all view of the others. “If you so much as touch a hair on any of their heads, I will snap your slimy neck.”

“Ooo, sslimey. But, wassn’t it you that ssaid Snakes aren’t slimy? Perhapss you are confussed. It’ss alright, no? We all can’t be perfect.”

Logan glared daggers at Deceit. “Step. Back.” he snarled.

Deceit glanced over his shoulder and smirked at Virgil’s injury. “My, my. He won’t make it very far like that, will he? You know, if you were to jusst hand him over now, I would let-”

He was cut off by Logan swinging a hard right hook. Deceit stumbled and fell back from the surprising force from the contact. Logan spun to the others and grabbed Roman’s arm quickly. Both of their eyes flashed blue for only a millisecond before he frantically started waving them on. “Go! Run!!’

Roman nodded and picked Virgil up, holding him protectively as he took off at a dead sprint. Patton ran slightly ahead, leading them back into the trees as Logan followed.

The laughter turned to a dangerous hiss as the storm picked up again, soaking them to the bones once more. Virgil looked over Roman’s shoulder to Logan. A crackling of lighting shocked a tree behind them and a carnivorous hiss followed.

Virgil watched as a golden cobra, at least 9 feet in length, easily slid up behind Logan. It reared up to attack, opening its’ jaw to show three inch long fangs, dripping with venom. 

“LOGAN!! WATCH OUT!!” Virgil screamed, but it was too late.

The cobra plunged its teeth into Logan’s neck, causing him to freeze. He watched as the glowing venom seeped it’s way into his veins, witnessing it glide through the tubes until it illuminated all across his body. He choked and cough, the glowing poison pouring from his lips. 

Virgil screamed. Patton turned to see, though he regretted it the moment he did. He almost burst into tears right there but he shouted for Roman to keep going. They grew further and further from Logan. 

Virgil reaching out as if to grab Logan and pull him along. The last he saw of Logan was him reaching back out to him as the snake roped its way around his neck. It turned to a golden chain with the end disappearing into the toxic fog. Then it was yanked and Logan flew backward-

And he was gone.

Virgil screamed and screamed and screamed. But it was too late. Logan was gone. And Roman and Patton kept. Running.


	3. Chapter 3

Saturday morning. 4:15 AM. On the run. Thomas' place was in shambles, the party was over. And the Sides' were nowhere to be found. 

There was no stopping the cats and dogs that fell from the sky. The thunder continued to roll, the lightning continued to flash, but the laughter had ceased. 

Patton believed that any step could cause him to collapse, but they had to keep going. Even a slight moment of pause could be their last moments of freedom.

Roman kept having to pull Virgil back up into his arms tighter. The water and the movement was all causing him to slip, but they had to keep going. They were already so close. 

Virgil was a wreck already. He was still screaming, crying, his face hidden in Roman's shoulder. What was this bullshit!! Why did Deceit take Logan! He said he wanted Virgil, so what was the point in killing Logan like that!! 

This was all his fault. 

They ran for what felt like a century before they managed to find Logan's house. And just behind it, just as the vision had said, there was a tall field.

Roman ran into it, knowing exactly where to go. But upon the lack of a second pair of footsteps, he stopped. He turned and hurried back. 

"Patton. Patton!!" He ran over to him and grabbed his hand, pulling him back to the field. "It's just a bit further, come on!"

But Patton yanked his hand away, stepping away from the field. "No, I-I don't wanna." He trembled. "I wanna get Logan back."

Roman frowned. "We will, Patton, but for now, we need to hide." He grabbed his hand again and literally dragged him in the 5-foot tall grass in the back of Logan's manor of a home. 

Roman looked around, searching for the hatch he'd seen in the vision. It was near the back of the field.. to the left? No, no. To the right. For sure. … right?

After a few minutes, they found it. A rotting piece of plywood that covered a rusted metal hatch like a submarine. 

Setting Virgil down and helping Patton hold him up, Roman crouched and grabbed the wood. He tossed it to the side and then grabbed the handle of the door. He pulled, but it did not budge. He tried again. Nothing. One more time and the rust gave away, screeching as he opened the door and pulled in up. It was a wonder Logan was able to open it in the first place. He stared into the black abyss for a moment before he began to climb down. 

"When I get down there, I'll shout for Virgil. Lower him and I'll catch him at the bottom." He instructed, climbing down the ladder. 

It went a bit far, maybe 10 to 11 feet before he felt solid ground. He stepped onto the ground and pulled out his phone, turning on the flashlight. His poor phone was so waterlogged at that point, it was a wonder it even still worked. 

He gazed around at the enclosed space. It was exactly as he had seen: four beds pressed to the far wall, an A/C unit into the far top corner, a bookcase stacked with food, water, kerosene containers, and other miscellaneous things. And boxes stored beneath every bed.

He looked back up to the hole. "Go ahead and let him down!" He shouted. 

"Got it!" 

Virgil's feet appeared and his good foot was placed on a rung. Patton was carefully helping Virgil down the latter. Once he reached where Roman could reach, he held onto Virgil from the bottom. Eventually, he was low enough that he picked him up again and could bring him the rest of the way down. 

"Alright, Pat. Your turn. Close the door on your way down, but be careful." He called back up. 

"Over there.." Virgil almost whispered, pointing to a chain in the corner. 

Roman carried him over to it and Virgil pulled on it. The room was suddenly illuminated in bright light from a few lights on the ceiling. Roman shut off his phone and tossed it onto one of the beds as Patton got off the latter. With the light on, they were all able to get a better look. 

Something that Roman had not spotted was a door to the side. Well, not really a door. A doorway. With a curtain separating it from the room they were in. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be an almost full sized bathroom. 

"What is this place?" Patton asked in wonder, gazing around.

"The Bunker," Roman responded. "Logan found it behind his house and expanded it.. the shower head runs on well water.. and when it drains, it filters to the sink." He pointed to the faucet. 

"He.. knew something like this was coming?" Virgil asked, looking up at him.

"Who knows what he knows." Roman sighed. "But at least he thought ahead."

The storm outside was silenced by the Earth above them. The silence almost sounded louder. 

Roman brought Virgil to the second bed closest to the bathroom and laid him down. He carefully pushed Virgil's pant leg up and took his shoe off. He tried moving Virgil's ankle, but Virgil squealed in response and yanked it away. 

"Definitely a break... Patton? Is there any chance you could…?"

Patton smiled warmly and gave a firm nod. "Always happy to be of help!" He stated. Roman moved out of the way as Patton took over. 

He rubbed his hands together and Virgil set his leg down again. He very slowly lowered his hands onto Virgil's ankle and closed his eyes. His fingertips turned sky blue and Virgil could feel the bones replacing themselves. 

After exactly one minute, Patton let go and opened his eyes. He became dizzy instantly and fumbled back. Roman caught him and picked him up, turning around and setting him on the second center bed.

"Thank you for your help, Apollo." He hummed with an appreciative smile. Patton nodded weakly and sighed. Using their powers always took far too much energy. 

Roman looked around at the place again. It looked like Logan had been planning this for a while. There was enough food and water to last all four of them for at least 5 years. Curious, he bent down and pulled the box from beneath Virgil's bed. He sat on the floor and pulled it open. 

 

The inside was well organized and packed full of things. Clothes, a week's worth at least, underwear and all. A few sweatshirts, headphones, fidget toys, and books to read and empty ones to write in. And hygiene tools as well: toothbrush, several tubes of toothpaste, deodorant, shampoo and conditioner and body wash bottles, all of Virgil's favorites. They were all very specific to Virgil. 

 

Even more curious now, he put the box back and pulled out the one from beneath Patton's bed. It was similar:

A week's worth of clothes and pack up cat sweaters. Extra pairs of glasses and clothes and cleaners, building blocks and lego sets, and papers and crayons to color with, and even a few small stuffed animals. Then tubes of toothpaste and brushes, showers soaps and deodorants in all of Patton's favorite smells. 

 

Roman grabbed pajamas from Patton's box before putting it away. Then he got Virgils' back out and did the same. 

 

"Here. Go ahead and change, guys. We all need a bit of beauty rest after.. everything."

 

Virgil nodded and took his clothes from him. He rolled his newly healed ankle and stood, going into the bathroom, closing the curtain behind him. 

 

Patton sat up slowly, taking the clothes from Roman. But he just stared down at them, frowning deeply. 

 

Roman frowned too. "Pat? You okay?" He asked softly, moving closer and kneeling beside him. 

 

Patton looked away. "Logan… s-sacrificed himself for us.." he stuttered. 

 

Roman nodded slowly. "He was truly the bravest knight of all tonight. We shall return the favor soon enough. But for now, we all need rest." He stroked Patton's cheek softly before standing. "We will get him back. But not if we go in exhausted."

 

Patton nodded. That made sense. They had a bunch to do beforehand. Logan... Logan could handle anything they threw at him. That lifted his spirits. So he scooted off the bed and changed into the new clothes he'd been given as Virgil came back out. 

 

Roman went to the bed furthest from the bathroom and looked beneath it. He pulled the box out and looked inside. His things. Clothes, toiletries, and things to keep him entertained, like coloring books and a 64 pack of crayons. A sketchbook and pencils, Shakespearean novels and a few playbooks for Broadway shows. He smiled at the idea of Logan collecting these things before he grabbed pajamas for himself and slipped the box away. He changed and then collected the wet clothes. 

 

After a bit of struggling and organizing, he managed to hang them up in the bathroom the dry out. Dry cleaning will do for now. 

 

He returned to the main room and saw both of his friends downtrodden. 

 

"Hey there, weeping willows. There's no need to frown. Everything will be alright. We'll come up with a plan in the morning. For right now, we are safe and that's all Logan would have wanted, yes?"

 

The two nodded in silence and Roman sighed. "I know this is hard. But we will pull through, I promise you." He kissed both of their heads before going over to the light chain. 

 

Patton and Virgil set down their things- phones and glasses and phone and headphones respectively- and then Roman shut off the light. He stumbled in the total darkness until he found his bed. He pulled back the blanket and laid down, covering up and setting his phone down on the ground. 

 

Virgil gazed around the pitch black room, his eyes glowing purple in the darkness to allow him to see. This unfamiliar place felt safer than any other place he could think of. It was small but not claustrophobic, and they were protected. Deceit couldn't get to them, and yet… he still felt danger. He still felt like he was waiting for something to happen. 

 

He turned to look at Patton but found that he had already passed out. The energy that was sapped from him to heal Virgil's ankle had taken a toll. So Virgil sighed and stared up to the ceiling. Eventually, he found his eyelids closing on their own, and he accepted the lonely darkness with open arms. 

 

On the other side of the room, Roman turned his back to the others and faced the wall. Dear Zeus, what was he going to do. 

 

He had to think of something, he was in charge now, it seemed. The other two were falling apart. Even Morality was struggling to remain joyous. 

 

What had they seen behind them?

 

Virgil's screaming still rang in his ears; the pain, the regret, and the sheer terror. And the look on Patton's face when he had turned to see… the only way to describe it is to compare it to that of a deer who could see the hunters' bullet coming. And both of them after, puffy-eyed and red-faced. They were driven to tears because of it.

 

What had Deceit done?

 

They had all come to the conclusion he would never do something as bold as this. Yes, he would annoy and inconvenience them. Maybe hurt or harm in some way. But never this. Never kidnap, never…

 

Roman sighed and tried to push it from his mind as he closed his eyes, begging to wake up tomorrow morning in Thomas' bed, Patton curled up in front of him, Virgil in Pat's arms, smiling, and Logan sitting up from the floor in annoyance, huffing that he'd slipped off. Please... let them wake up to happiness.


	4. Chapter 4

Saturday morning. 10:25 AM. The Bunker. There was no natural light. No birds singing outside the window, no cars on the street. The only way to know it was morning was because their phones said so. And those were dying fast, so that wouldn't even be a resource soon.

Roman was the first to wake. He went to inspect the food and water that had been put down there. The food was less specific than the belongings. They couldn't be as picky with their life sources. So the boxes of granola bars and dry cereals would do for breakfast this morning. He ate a few granola bars as he waited for the others to wake. 

Virgil stirred only a moment later. He rubbed his eyes as he sat up, looking around. That feeling- the danger that was coming- it had not left. It hadn’t even lessened over the night. Could it have gotten worse? No way to tell. But he attempted to brush it off as he got off his bed.

“Hey.” Roman greeted him gently. “Lovely morning, huh?”

Virgil snickered and rolled his eyes. “Yeah, sure. That's one way to describe it.” he sighed. He got up and looked at the food like Roman had. But he didn’t take anything and just sat back down on his bed. He looked at Patton, who had not moved since he fell asleep.

“It’d be best not to wake him,” Roman said lightly, going over and sitting on the ground beside Virgil’s bed. “Let him sleep for now. We need to talk about the plan for getting Logan back. I was thinking, with your knowledge of their hideout, we could-”

“We’re not going.”

Roman was thrown off his train of thought by Virgil’s sudden statement. He sat in shocked silence a moment before he was able to form words again. “What? 'Not going'? Virgil, that’s ridiculous, we have to go. We can’t just leave him-” 

“We aren’t going, Roman. It’s too dangerous.” 

“But I told Patton-”

“I know what you told him,” Virgil said sharply, looking dead into Roman’s eyes. “But we are not going. It's way too dangerous and the possibility of death is pretty high.”

“Which is why we  _ have _ to go get him!” Roman argued. “They’ll  _ kill _ him if we leave him there."

“You said it yourself, Princey, Logan wants us all safe here.”

Roman huffed and stood up. “Virgil, you're being… difficult. We  _ have _ to get him, so we are. So either help us or don’t and we go in blind.” 

Virgil grit his teeth and glared at him. He stared at him in hopes that maybe silence would help him reason. But he knew Roman wasn’t one to back down and that Patton wouldn’t give up hope. So he looked away and crossed his arms. 

“Fine. I’ll help. But I don't think it's a good idea." He stood without a glance to him and went to the bathroom.

Pattom finally awoke. He mumbled softly and blinked his eyes open. He sat up and looked around before seeing Roman. “Good morning.” he smiled cheerfully. 

Roman looked to him and smiled back. “Hey there, Sleeping Beauty. Sleep well?”

Patton nodded and got up, shoving his glasses on to his face. “I didn’t dream, but I feel rested and ready to go.” he strolled to the food and grabbed a box of cereal. He opened it and shoved a handful into his mouth. “Whas da pwan?”

Virgil came out of the bathroom and went over to his bed, pulling out the box to grab clean clothes for himself. “The plan is, I lead you both to the Dark Sides’ territory to find Logan. We go in, grab him, and get out.”

“Really? It’s that simple?” Patton asked, stepping eagerly. “Then what are we waiting for??”

Virgil turned to him slowly. “That was sarcasm, Pat. Even after we get to the place, we have to figure out what building he’s in- if he’s even there- and then there’s the other Dark Sides to worry about and Deceit. And how badly he’s hurt.” 

Patton frowned and slouched. “Oh… right... I didn’t think about all that.”

Roman sighed. “We can figure it out. For now, let’s assume he’s at the territory, and alive. What if, uh... We can go undercover to find where he’s at. What do Dark Side’s usually wear?” he turned to Virgil.

Virgil sighed and rubbed his eyes as he changed his clothes. “Dark colors. Not necessarily blacks and grays, but dark versions of any color. And they each have an accent, like Deceit’s gold lining on his cape. And dramatics like the cape are always present.”

Roman nodded. “I can work with that. And you’ve got that whole… eye shadow look. Can’t you do makeup to help disguise our faces?” 

Virgil tightened his jaw, beginning to get annoyed. "Yes, I can, but I don’t have the makeup with me right now. It seems Logan didn’t think it was important enough to put in here. And no thanks on the costume. I’m fine. You two will need them though.”

“Yay!! Dress up!” Patton cheered. “What can I do?” 

“Um..” Roman thought. “There may be something useful in the unmarked boxes. But we’ll be going out soon. I need my fabrics to make the costumes and Virgil will need the makeup. So for now, get dressed. We’ll go when you’re ready.”

Patton nodded and grabbed his box quickly. He pulled out his clothes and hurried to the bathroom to change. 

Virgil pulled on his jacket and zipped it up, turning to Roman. “What will happen if something goes wrong.”

Roman turned to look at him as he pulled out his own clothes. “What do you mean?”

“I mean,” Virgil crossed his arms. “What will we do if the costumes don’t work? What if Logan isn’t there? What if something happens and we get hurt, kidnapped, or killed?”

Roman frowned and looked away, standing and undressing to change. “Nothing will go wrong. Right now we’re just getting supplies and preparing. And later it’s just to look around. Nothing will go wrong if we don’t let it.”

Virgil huffed and looked away. “Yeah, sure… I hope you're right about that."

Roman was almost changed when Patton skipped from the bathroom. He smiled to Patton as he finished buttoning his shirt. “Ready?”

Patton nodded excitedly and yanked on his shoes. “Let’s go!” He hurried over and began climbing the ladder to the hatch. Virgil followed without a word to Roman and waited for his turn to go. 

Roman frowned and sighed, deciding it being better to not mention negative possibilities as they reemerged into the world above. It isn't a problem if you don't recognize it as such. 

So he waited his turn. He climbed up the ladder after Virgil, squinting to protect his eyes from the blinding sun outside of their metal box in the ground. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just realized I never posted chapter 4!! I'm so sorry!!!! I'll post two chapters to make up for it!!


	5. Beyond Repair

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning for:
> 
> Mentions of blood. Cutting. Torture. Loneliness. Pain. Captivity.
> 
> It's written in Logan's point of view.

The air was cold and unforgiving. 

 

Yet he felt cradled by warmth and comfort. 

 

Falling was the only sensation he felt.

 

Yet the ground was visible beneath him. 

Time seemed slow, but he moved quickly. Air escaped him, yet he could feel his lungs filling and emptying more clearly than he could ever think of. 

He was lost. A cacophony of feelings and emotions he'd never felt or understood. Pain. Fear. Uncertainty. Confusion. Loss. Tragedy.

There was no thought. He did not think. He did not try to move. He felt his hands and feet beneath him, but shocking him as though shoved to the center of a black hole. But he knew that the pain could only worsen, not get better. Movement would do that. So staying still was best. 

How long had he remained? He was not sure. He had been counting. He was trying to help himself, keeping track of time. But the numbers had soon become jumbled. The clock was broken and never seemed right. Was it day or night? Early or late? Was the sun or moon his friend? Neither in here. 

His tongue was only sandpaper in his mouth. He'd long since lost the pleasure of sweat or tears to hydrate him. Other means were all for naught. He could sense his body eating itself, but it had been so long since he'd last been hungry. 

He was empty. He was hollow. He was nothing. At one point he could remember... at one point he had hope that... and one point he could hear. At one point he could smell. At one point he could see. But those had been taken from him. /He/ had been taken from him. And he wasn't sure if he was supposed to miss himself or not. 

What were their names? .... Mor... morality... Prin- Creativity... .... ... Anxiety... 

 

But who was he

 

What was his name

 

Where was he

 

How long had it been

 

When could he leave

 

When could he feel

 

When could he die

 

When could he

 

When could he

 

When could

 

Somewhere. Somewhere a door opened. Someone. Someone was speaking. He did not hear. He did not see. 

The pain came back. One he expected, however. His hands torn from him just as before. Blades slicing his skin, blood he couldn't afford to lose. 

He could scream. Or he could not. One took more effort than the other. One took more energy. One took more power and focus and dignity that he did not have. 

So he supplied the less taxing of the two and tore his throat apart beyond repair once again.

When it was done- when the pain stopped growing and he was left alone in the boiling warmth and shallow cold- he was once again empty. That pain was all he could rely on. The only reason he knew himself to still be alive.

He did not move. He did not think. He did not breathe. Sleep was no savour. Sleep made it worse. Sleep brought the pain sooner. Sleep made him alive. 

Sleep killed. 

 

So he remained awake. He remained. 

 

Beyond repair.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I must confess.... i wrote this a long time ago. And never posted it. Sorry!! But here it is! And new chapters are in the works! Promise you!

Tuesday afternoon. 7:54 PM. The edge of the Dark Side Territory. The change in atmosphere was jarring. It was a whole city in the dead center of the state. They’d decided to go later because the dark could help hide them. And it had taken a long time for Roman to finish the costumes.

 

The temperature had dropped almost 10 degrees instantly. A permanent dark cloud hung over the incomplete streets and broken buildings. It looked like a comical Gotham city. Buildings practically bulging over the city limits, smoke stacks billowing pollution into the sky, and general disarray all over. Glass and trash littered the ground, plastic bags taking place of tumbleweeds. All the buildings were crumbling, with busted windows and doors with no locks. People were not visible but car horns and alarms were going off in the distance. The city was about half lit, with some street lights shattered and broken and a few buildings had the lights on, though the brightness fluctuates depending on where you looked.

 

Virgil had a deep frown on his face as he stared up at the hell that had forged him. He’d sworn never to come back, and yet here he was, dressed in his old clothes. The torn jeans and plaid jacket. 

 

Patton fidgeted in his disguise, not entirely comfortable with the scratchy cloth pressed to his skin. He was dressed as Lust. A dark feather boa around his neck and dramatic red and pink makeup that completely changed his face. A deep pink, long sleeved shirt with belled princess cuffs and painted nails, and tight red jeans with studded ass pockets. A black belt with a red diamond buckle, and matching heeled boots. He was extremely uncomfortable as he stared at the rising city ahead of them.

 

Roman set his jaw. This was the worst day of his life. He was dressed like his twin brother. His usual outfit changed to black with shimmery green studs all around it. The scratchy tool that was his sash was probably the worst. It would be. If the fake mustache on his upper lip didn’t give him any better feelings. They’d even managed to track down silver hair dye to capture the familiar streak in his hair. 

 

“Let’s get this over with.” Roman huffed, beginning to march into the town. 

 

Virgil grabbed his arm and yanked him back. “Stop it. You need to stay in character. Remus wouldn’t act the same way you do. Patton… do your best. Either way, you both need to stay close to me. Literally anything can happen here. So don’t just run off.” 

 

Patton stepped back. “Guys.. I don’t know about this anymore…”

 

Roman frowned. “We’re already here and we’re already dressed. We have to find Logan.”

 

Virgil stood up and took a deep breath. “Remus- I mean.. Roman is right. We’re already here. We should just go in and do this now. Nothing’s gonna happen, Pat.”

 

Patton bit his lip sheepishly before nodding. “Okay. Let’s go get Logan!” 

 

“Shhh!” 

 

“Oh! Sorry.” He whispered now.

 

Virgil sighed lightly before looking back up to the city. He took a deep breath and stepped across the city lines, heading in to the Dark Side territory.

 

He walked quietly, his feet crunching over broken glass on the sidewalk. At some point, his shoe started clicking as if something were stuck in it, but he ignored it. 

 

Patton followed, looking around at the unknown area. This was all so strange. It was the exact opposite of where they lived. Everything looked the same, but it was dead here rather than the flourishing place he knew. He had to shake himself from his thoughts. Right. He wasn’t Patton here. He was Lust. How would Lust act? 

 

Roman was looking around as well. He recognized the shells of the buildings. He’d almost be compelled to go see if his house was there too if they didn’t have a reason to be there. 

 

They walked for a while before reaching the business center of the city. There were plenty of people now, though, most seemed… neglected. They were all grown- or close to it- but they were all unwashed and thin. They appeared to be zombies, stumbling and mumbling incoherent words. There were cars, but no one was driving them. They were driven off the road, alarms going off to the few that still worked. 

 

They had a simple plan. After talking for hours and planning and thinking, they decided there was only one place that they would keep Logan: City Hall.

 

City hall was a copy of the White House, but only half the size. The windows were all blacked out and the walls were gray from pollution rather than brilliant white. 

 

They stopped just at the edge of the grounds, staring up the paving path at it. It was. Disgusting. But if they were keeping Logan anywhere, it'd be there. 

 

"Remus, Lust. When we get inside, we'll have to spit up. It's too big to go together, it'll take too much time. Try not to look suspicious and remember what we practiced. Meet back out here in half an hour. Got it?"

 

Patton tossed a piece of gum into his mouth and chewed. Roman messed up his hair and nodded firmly. His stick on mustache peeled back and he pressed it back on before nodding again. 

 

"Let's get Logan back."

 

So the three headed in. And instantly they split off, running in three different directions to get up to their respective floors. Hopefully at least one of them could find something. 

 

Patton had been selected- or more volunteered against his wishes- to take the entire bottom floor. He walked into the giant threshold but almost instantly stopped to gaze at it all. 

 

He could see the second and third floor walk ways. The high domed ceiling was surprisingly untouched and gorgeous, with depictions of angels and demons together in harmony. He recognized one demon. Lust. Wearing the same outfit he currently had on. So they must the sins. But.. there were only six demons?

 

Focus Patton! He had to find Logan! So he forged ahead to check every room on the bottom floor. 

 

A huge sitting area was on the far left. It was about half the size of the foyer. And just through a door on the wall to the right was a huge swimming pool.. there was no water. Strange red stains covered the bottom and concrete sides. He gulped and prayed it was just paint. He left that room pretty quickly and went to the right wing. 

 

The right wing had a few meeting rooms. Each has been emptied and spiders took over as company. He decided not to go in there. 

 

A tennis court with cracked paint and abandoned nets. An indoor garden with tragic plants and withered flowers. At one point they could have been beautiful. But.. they were nothing but gray ash now.

 

Patton sighed, running his hand through his hair. He'd already been to the two wings and it had taken him 20 minutes. He only had the front offices left to check and those seemed like the most unlikely places for where a hostage would be kept. 

 

Still, nowhere could go unseen. So Patton went back to the front and headed behind the desk on the wall to the right. He opened the door and went in. Just as he expected, it was crammed full of metal filing cabinets stuffed full of useless papers. It wasn't very big either. So he left the room and went to the other side of the great hall to the final room. 

 

He tried the knob. Locked? No other door had been locked. Not even the front door. 

 

Sudden hope made butterflies explode in his stomach. They just had to find a way in…

 

Patton checked the time. Half an hour was almost up. He concluded that three heads were better than one. So he turned to go back to the front. 

 

_ Click _

 

Roman had found absolutely nothing. A basketball court, meeting rooms, once glorious bedrooms that had been stripped and broken, even a theater. A theater! But nothing that could help them. 

 

His stride unconfident and tired, he went back down the stairs to the front door. Virgil was already there, standing in front of the glass door. He tapped his foot anxiously, but it stopped when he saw Roman. 

 

"Hey. Find anything?"

 

Roman shook his head. "Nothing. Just neglected architecture."

 

Virgil huffed, his bangs puffing up from in front of his eyes. "Yeah, me neither…" not entirely true. The presidential suite was fully taken care of and stuffed full of valuables. Someone obviously lived there. But there was no sign of them or Logan, so he didn't feel it was important. 

 

"Where's Patton?"

 

Virgil looked around. "I.. I'm not sure. He should be back by now…" distractedly, he began walking to the right wing, looking down the hall for Patton. He went to the first door and pushed it open. A spider dropped to the floor and Roman had to cover his mouth to keep from shrieking. 

 

Virgil closed the door quickly. "Not in there." The next two rooms were the same. No sign of Patton anywhere. 

 

But as Virgil reached for the third doors knob, it began to twist. Someone was coming out. 

 

Roman- thinking on his feet for once- shoved Virgil out of the way as the door opened. 

 

Roman was face-to-face with a doppleganger. 

 

Or was Remus the one who was seeing double?

 

Remus and Roman- twins at war- were nose-to-nose and toe-to-toe. 

 

Remus stared at him. "My, what a dapper young fellow you are." He complimented with a smile.

 

Roman stood up straight quickly, copying the smile to the exact muscle. 

 

Remus blinked and so did Roman. Remus squinted his eyes and Roman did too. He raised his right arm and Roman copied with his left. He spun and Roman did also. Remus dashed to the left and Roman mirrored. With a dash to the right, Remus smacked his head against the wall. Roman was forced to do the same, even repeating the string of swears as they both rubbed their heads in pain. 

 

Remus puckered his lips and reached out, grabbing Roman's shoulders. Roman panicked and did the same to Remus, but Remus didn't seem to think about how strange it was to touch a reflection. 

 

Remus stepped forward, making Roman step back. He spun them and then stepped forward again, placing Roman in the doorway. 

 

"There we go!!" He cheered proudly, letting Roman go. "Continue with your business, my friend!" 

 

He turned to Virgil with a bright smile and waved excitedly. "Hi, Virgil!" He spun on his heel and began to walk away. 

 

Roman released a breath of relief and Virgil wiped his forehead. Jesus christ-

 

Remus suddenly stopped. Virgil and Roman instantly stiffened again. That can't be good.

 

Remus turned back around agonizingly slowly. He was staring hard at Virgil. "Wait… Virgil… why are you here?"

 

Virgil opened his mouth to reply, but with his worst fears realized, he was only able to make a sputter hiccup of noise. 

 

"He's here because he missed us!" Roman jumped in quickly, stepping in front of Virgil. He perfectly imitated Remus' voice to every annoying detail. "You know how anxiety is. He can't resist us! We all knew he'd come back sooner or later."

 

"Oh yeah!" Remus spurted, not catching even a little of the lie. "Anxiety works in funny ways, that silly mongoose." He laughed loudly at his joke, Roman replying with the same one halfheartedly.

 

"Well I best be off." Remus waved. "Make sure to visit-"

 

So close. They were so close. Remus was leaving. All they had to do was find Patton and get out of there. They'd discuss and think of a new plan. So. Close. 

 

But Remus stopped speaking as he stared at Roman. Or more specifically- Roman's mustache. He watched as it slowly peeled back and flopped off of Roman's face. It hit the ground with a sticky slap that seemed to shake the world. It fell, just as their hopes and dreams did.

 

Remus blinked and looked between the mustache on the ground and Roman's now hairless face. Roman gave an awkward wave. 

 

"Hey there, Rem. I was wondering-"

 

"INTRUDERS!!!!" Remus erupted, his shrill voice blasting from his throat like someone cut a hole in the sound barrier. 

 

Despite the dead building and molded air, the whole place lit up with life. A siren began squealing and doors everywhere were being thrown open. 

 

Impossible!! They'd been to every room-

 

Roman grabbed Virgil's hand and began running for the front door. The frame to the exit was so far away. Each step was like they were trapped in a fast drying patch of concrete. Feet went nowhere, but that was all the hope they had left. 

 

Roman threw them through the door to the main lobby was choked as the cement dried. He froze on the spot as he stared in absolute horror and pain at the door. 

 

Standing just in front of it, bloodied and bruised, clothes shredded and skin bare, was Patton, held up by a hand and knife to his side. The hand belonged to a broad figure, tall and muscled far more than Roman could ever hope to be: Pride. 

 

"Patton!!" Virgil screamed. 

 

Pride smiled wickedly and drove the knife into Patton's side inch by inch. 

 

Patton gasped and coughed, blood spurting from his mouth to the ground. 

 

"R… un." He rasped. His voice sounded as though his chords had been run through a tumbler a dozen times. It was so quiet it was hardly heard. But they had to get out. 

 

Virgil snatched up Roman's hand and yanked him away from the scene. Fight or flight took over. He had to find a way for them to get out.

 

He ran to the left wing. The whole wall was made of windows. He frantically slammed against it, but it resulted in a yelp as his shoulder made impact. Not even a crack.

 

Roman searched frantically. "Step back!" He shouted, grabbing a small side table nearby. He swung it with all the force he could muster and shattered the nearest three windows. 

 

Virgil instantly grabbed his sleeve and took off again. 

 

They were running as fast as their legs could carry them. Each trip wasted time. The siren was blaring all over the city. People were frantically running at them with makeshift weapons and insanity in their eyes. A prize would be rewarded for capture of a light side. 

 

Virgil dodged them easily, thrashing Roman to follow his actions. His cheek was swiped by a nail in a board that was used as a bat. He was tripped and fell flat. 

 

Roman scooped him up instantly and kept running. But the people kept going also. Rocks were thrown, hitting him in the back, and sides. Glass was used as knives and he was sliced and stabbed. But he ignored them and held Virgil tightly, running with all the furiosity his body could muster. He hadn't even taken the time to start bleeding yet. 

 

Once again they were running. Once again, Virgil was carried by Roman. Once again, he watched as one of his friends was killed right before his eyes. 

 

They made it out of the city. The screams of angry zombies followed. The siren of betrayal. And howl of pain and the smell of blood and smoke.

 

How often must history repeat itself before they learned their lesson.


End file.
